California Surpasses 30,000 COVID-19 Deaths
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — California has hit a sobering milestone in the coronavirus pandemic, surpassing 30,000 deaths since the virus began spreading nearly a year ago.
According to Johns Hopkins University data, it took California six months to record 10,000 deaths. But the surge that started in October took California from 20,000 to 30,000 in barely one month's time.
California, which ranks third in the nation in coronavirus deaths behind Texas and New York, reported a two-day record of 1,163 deaths over the weekend. A large number of California's deaths are in Los Angeles County, where deaths have topped 12,000.
The ongoing surge, which doesn't yet include cases that are expected to occur from Christmas and New Year's gatherings, has prompted state officials to send out more than a hundred refrigerated trucks to hold bodies because county morgues are stretched thin for space.
Many of the state's COVID-19 testing sites, like the state's largest one at Dodger Stadium, will be transformed into massive vaccination centers by the end of the week.
